The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has clarified that it has no intention of becoming the sole off-taker for products from Dangote Refinery Limited (DRL) or any other entity in a deregulated market environment.
According to NNPC, the refinery and other domestic refineries are free to sell directly to marketers on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis, which aligns with the current practices in a fully deregulated petroleum product market.
The Chief Corporate Communications Officer at NNPC Ltd., Olufemi Soneye, issued this statement on Saturday in Abuja while responding to claims made by the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) that the NNPC was undermining Dangote Refinery’s operations.
MURIC had claimed that NNPC’s actions, particularly recent changes in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), would prevent Dangote Refinery from offering lower prices, alleging that NNPC had become the sole off-taker of products from the refinery.
Soneye refuted these claims, clarifying that the pricing of petroleum products from any refinery, including Dangote Refinery, is determined by global market forces. He stated that recent PMS price changes have no impact on Dangote Refinery or any domestic refinery’s access to the Nigerian market.
“In fact, if current prices are perceived as high, it presents an ideal opportunity for the Dangote Refinery to sell its products at lower prices in the Nigerian market,” he explained.
Soneye emphasized that there is no guarantee that domestic refining would automatically result in lower prices compared to global parity pricing frameworks, as confirmed by the Dangote Refinery itself.
“NNPC Ltd. will only fully off-take PMS from the Dangote Refinery if market prices for PMS are higher than the pump prices in Nigeria. We have no desire or intention to become the distributor for any entity in a free market environment, so the notion of becoming a sole off-taker does not arise.”
He further noted that NNPC Ltd. cannot undermine a business in which it holds a billion-dollar stake and advised MURIC to verify facts before making misleading statements that could incite public unrest against the NNPC Ltd.
The NNPC Ltd. reaffirmed its commitment to market-based practices and denied any intentions of monopolizing product off-take from the Dangote Refinery or any other refinery.
NAN
